The Actor's Turnabout
by GodotIsWaiting4U
Summary: A new Phoenix Wright case. Still majorly in progress. I'm trying to push for moderately frequent chapter updates, and I'm going to definitely have frequent chapter edits. PLEEEEASE *to quote Ron Delite* read & review, and tell your friends. Flames OK.


The following story is, of course, non-canon, but I'll try to write it so one could imagine it to be so if one wished

The events of the following story take place shortly after _Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials & Tribulations: Case 3-3: Recipe for a Turnabout._

XXX

A blade flashed quickly in the moonlight.

"And stay down," the killer said.

XXX

"Good morning, Nick!"

"UAAAGH!" screamed Phoenix, as he jolted awake in surprise. A small puddle of drool on the desk quickly told him where he was. _I must have fallen asleep while working_, he thought, as he sat up in the chair. Charley, Mia's favorite plant (when she was alive) was sitting in the corner, photosynthesizing as well as usual, and in front of Phoenix was Maya, smiling, unrepentant in her enthusiasm and completely oblivious to shock she had just put her friend through.

"You know, if you're going to sleep, Nick, you really should do it in a bed. Desks are too hard."

"Thanks, Maya, I'll be sure to do that the next time I'm _reviewing case files all night_."

Phoenix looked down at the case file on his desk. The Glen Elg poisoning case had been shut a week ago, but Phoenix was still trying to figure one more thing out: what sort of idiots would mistake Furio Tigre for a real lawyer, much less Phoenix?

"Nick," Maya said, with that special glint in her eye that Phoenix had learned to associate with her dragging him somewhere against his will. "Today's the day they start filming that new show, _The Copper Samurai_!"

_Yet another spin-off? They're milking the franchise for all it's worth,_ thought Phoenix. "Okay," he replied. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Maya rolled her eyes. "You said you'd come with me, remember? Mr. Powers pulled some strings, and they're letting us watch the filming of the first episode!"

Phoenix stared blankly. The memory of that conversation was slowly seeping forward to the front of his mind. It had been a very one-sided conversation, and Phoenix had agreed in order to shut Maya up.

"I even brought Pearly along with us!" Maya said.

"Good morning, Mr. Nick!" an exuberant voice shouted.

Phoenix was suddenly aware of the child at Maya's side. The height of the desk, combined with the positioning of the desk's computer, had blocked his view of the little girl.

Phoenix stood up and sighed. "All right," he said. "Let's go."

As the three left the office, Maya and Pearl began chattering excitedly about the new show. Maya, who had been a fan since _The Steel Samurai_, was speaking authoritatively about the previous episode to Pearl, who had only seen a few episodes of the first spin-off, _The Nickel Samurai_. Phoenix had wanted to get some time outside of the office, but hadn't quite anticipated how he would be doing so. _Oh well_, he thought to himself. _What are the odds, really, that we'll be dealing with another case today?_

XXX

When they arrived, they were greeted by a terrible sight. The studio was blanketed in police tape.

"Hey, pal! Careful with that evidence," a voice shouted.

_Oh, perfect,_ though Phoenix, recognizing the voice. He stood right where he was, trying to delay the inevitable as long as possible. Maya rushed right up to Detective Gumshoe, fully ready to demand an explanation, with Pearl trying desperately to keep up behind her.

Gumshoe, however, ducked under the police tape and walked right past Maya, right up to Phoenix.

"Good to see you again, pal!" Gumshoe said.

"I'd say the same, but we only see each other when there's a murder," replied Phoenix. Gumshoe's face quickly fell, as he realized the implications of his own words.

"Well, you know the drill, Detective. What happened?"

"Ah, yeah, that. It looks like _The Copper Samurai_ is never going to get off the ground, pal."

"What, did someone kill the director?" asked Phoenix.

"Nope. They killed the star, pal."

"WHAT?!" shouted Maya as Pearl began to cry.

"Yep. Looks like a stabbing to me. Estimated time of death between 10-11 PM last night. It's a pity, really, pal."

"A pity? What do you mean?" asked Phoenix.

"Well, the victim, Louis Cannon, had a promising career ahead of him, but it looks like he'll never get to even start it."

"He was a new actor?"

"Yeah, pal. Brand new. He did a little bit of acting on stage, but nothing on film till now. Well, I guess not now, either," Gumshoe said, trying to suppress a small chuckle at his own joke, much to Maya's chagrin.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Maya yelled. As though on cue, Pearl's crying ground to halt, and anger at Gumshoe's apparent callousness replaced her distress.

"Mr. Scruffy Detective! That's not a nice thing to say!"

Shame covered Gumshoe's face. "Sorry."

"Never mind that," said Phoenix. "Have they found the culprit?"

"About that," Gumshoe said, "You're not gonna like this, pal.

"You know how Will Powers was always cast in roles where his face was covered, since he looked so intimidating? Well, they were going to have him finally play with his real face showing, as the Copper Samurai's archenemy, the Crimson Shogun. Unfortunately for Mr. Powers, pal, they suddenly terminated the contract two days ago and signed someone else for the role. They decided to keep Powers as an action choreographer, but I understand he wasn't exactly thrilled."

"No…you don't mean…" Phoenix began.

"Yeah, I do, pal. Will Powers's prints were found on the knife."

Maya's face grew ashen, and Pearl began to cry again.

XXX

"I didn't do it!"

"We know you didn't Mr. Powers! Nick's going to defend you, right Nick?"

"Huh?" asked Phoenix. The evidence against Powers was pretty strong, and his alibi was painfully weak.

"Uh, sure, Maya. Right," he said. "Could you go over your alibi again, Will?"

"Okay, like I was saying, I went over the moves for the next fight scene with Louie till about 7:00 PM. We got into a small argument near the end, but it was just about one of the moves, I swear!"

"Then what?" asked Phoenix.

"Then I went back to my trailer and watched some old episodes of _The Steel Samurai _alone, and went to sleep."

"And no one can corroborate this?"

"I don't know if anyone else knew where I was or not."

"What time did you go to sleep?"

"Around 11."

"You do know this doesn't help our case at all, right?"

"Yeah…"

Phoenix pulled out the crime photo Gumshoe had given him and looked it over. The photo showed Louis Cannon in his costume, with a knife sticking out of his chest. He had clearly coughed up blood after being stabbed, as his chin and the front of his outfit were covered in the dark bloodstain. His bronze-colored scarf seemed to blend with the stains on the white undershirt he wore under his jacket, which lay on the floor. Phoenix had found it strange that the photo should be in color, until he learned who had taken the photograph: an old friend with a brand-new color camera had been one of the first on the scene for the filming, and was the one who had discovered the body while snooping around the dressing rooms. _As if dealing with another murder isn't bad enough, now I have to deal with Lotta's usual unhelpful testimony._

"All right, Mr. Powers. I believe you. I'll take your case," Phoenix said. As Maya and Phoenix walked away, Pearl, who had maintained silence the whole time, looked up at Phoenix expectantly.

"You're going to get him out of trouble, right Mr. Nick?" she asked.

"I'm going to try," replied Phoenix, sounding far more confident than he really was.

"Looks like we're going to have to go back to the studio, huh Nick?" asked Maya.

XXX

Alright, it's not great yet, but it's something. Writing this is hard, since I have to make sure not to drop too many hints to the audience. You can probably expect a further-edited version of this with more details later, when I start incorporating more data into the trials and stuff. The photo description is almost certain to get a revision later. Of course, I'll throw in some red herrings, too, to keep it from seeming too easy.


End file.
